H I P 
• HIPPOL'YTUS, a Chriftian bifliop of the third century, 
diftinguifhed by the furname of Portuenjis ; he having been 
either bifhop of Portus in Italy, or of Portus Romanus, 
now called Aden, in Arabia. He went from Aden to 
Rome, where he refided for fome time, and became famous 
for his zeal in preaching the gofpel, and defending the 
Chriftian religion ; and where, in confequence, he buffered 
martyrdom. This event fome place in the year 230, un¬ 
der the emperor Alexander SeVerus, and others in the per¬ 
fection under Maximinus, about the year 235. He wrote 
in the Greek language; and, from what is faid by Eufebius, 
his works muft have been well known in the eaft. Of his 
fame in Europe, a noble monument, erefted to his honour 
near Rome, affords fome proof. This monument repre- 
fents him fitting in a chair, on the tides of which are en¬ 
graved, in Greek letters, cycles of fixteen years, forming 
the moft ancient pafchal canon in exiftence. It was pub- 
lifhed in Greek, by Jofeph Scaliger, with commentaries, 
in 1595 ; and in Latin by father Giles Bucher, in 1634. 
Gruter has alfo inferted it in his Colleftion of ancient In- 
fcriptions ; from which it has been tranfcribed by Cave. 
The learned John Albert Fabricius publifhed a very valua¬ 
ble edition of the remaining works and fragments of Hip- 
polytus, in Greek and Latin, in two volumes folio, 1716, 
and 1718. 
■ HIPPOM'ACHY, f. [from wwo;, Gr. a horfe, and 
(ao-Xyi, a fight.] A conteft on horieback. 
HIPPOM'ANE, f. [the name of a plant fuppofed to 
make liorfes "furious; from a horle, and fiance, 
madnefs.] In botany, the Manchineel Tree ; a genus 
of the clafs monoecia, order monadelphia, natural order 
of tricoccas, (euphorbias, JuJ.) The generic characters 
are—Male flowers in a terminating ament. Calyx : pe¬ 
rianthium one-leafed, roundifh, bellying; with the mouth 
converging,, emarginate. Corolla: none. Stamina: fila¬ 
ment ftngle, filiform, twice as long as the calyx ; antheras 
four, roundifh, fixed croftwife to the fides of the filament 
towards the tip. Female flower folitary, terminating, in 
the fame plant. Calyx : perianthium three-leaved, wither¬ 
ing ; leaflets roundifh, concave, blunt, converging. Co¬ 
rolla none. Piftillum: germ ovate, large ; ftyle very fliort; 
ftigma flightly feven-cleft, fharp, reflex. Pericarpium: 
drupe globular, very large, one-celled, crowned with the 
permanent ftigmas ; or a tricoccous caplule. Seed : nut 
woody, irregular, acuminate, excavated with little pits 
and apophyfes, feven-celled, feven-valved ; kernels foli¬ 
tary, roumliih .—EJfential CharaSier. Male. Ament; peri¬ 
anthium bifid; corolla none. Female. Perianthium trifid; 
corolla none ; ftigma three-parted ; drupe or caplule three ¬ 
grained. 
Species. 1. Hippomane mancinella, the manchineel- 
tree : leaves ovate, ferrate, biglandular at the bale. The 
manchineel-tree is very large in the Weft-Indies, almoft 
equalling the oak in fize. Jacquin fays, it is a lofty large 
tree, with a very branching lpreading head, having fbme- 
thing the air of a pear-tree. According to Swartz, the 
trunk is of a middling fize, with a grey, even, thick, milky 
bark, and a hard wood which is yellowifh, with grey or 
blackilh veins. Leaves rounded at the bafe, acuminate, 
orenate, two inches in diameter, thickifh, dark green, 
fhining, paler underneath, milky', nerved ; on petioles 
from twelve to fifteen lines in length, margined. Flow¬ 
ers in aments or fpikes. Male flowers three or four in an 
ament: common perianth one-leafed, blunt; proper two- 
parted, turbinate, with blunt minute teeth. Females pe¬ 
rianth trifid, minute, caducous; ftyle none ; ftigmas three, 
two-parted, acute, reflex. Fruit a drupe, the colour, fize, 
and form, of an apple, fmooth, with a foft fpongy fieih, a 
fweet fmell, and an. infipid cauftic tafte. Within is a nut 
with from three to five cells, with a fingle feed in each, 
which is three-cornered, covered with a fhining filvery 
fkin, and having the tafte of a hazel-nut. Miller fays,-, 
the fruit is about the fize and fhape of a golden pippin, 
and turns yellow when ripe. I-t drops from the tree in 
great quantities,.not rotting, but drying up, and does not 
h i p m 
feem to be eaten by any animal, except, perhaps, by the 
land-crab ; (cancer ruricola Linn, fee Cancer, vol. iii. p< 
706, and the correfpondent Engraving;) which reforts to 
thefe trees in incredible quantities. Dr. Patrick Browne 
affirms, that he has known many people who have igno¬ 
rantly eaten of this fruit, which they had taken for crab- 
apples : they generally vomited in a fhort time, and con¬ 
tinued to complain of a burning heat in the mouth, throat, 
and llomach, for many hours after. The juice of the 
buds of the white cedar is efteemed an antidote to this 
poifon, and is generally ufed with fome fuccefs; but oily 
mixtures and emulfions are the moft effefinal affiftants, 
and feldom fail giving relief f'oon. He adds, that he ne¬ 
ver knew any to die by this poifon, though he has feen 
fome who have eaten nine or ten of the apples at a time. 
Long fays, that though the green fruit may be deftrucfive 
in coniiderable quantity, yet it may be taken in fmall 
quantity without danger, and is too difagreeable, from its 
acrimony, to excite any defire of eating it. When ripe, 
it is too infipid to raife any pleafure. He adds, that goats, 
flieep, and macaws, feed greedily on it in this ftate. The 
firft accounts of this tree were very much exaggerated. It 
was faid to be dangerous to fit or lie under it, and that 
the rain which falls from the leaves will raife blifters in the 
fkin. Profeffor jacquin informs us, that he and liis com¬ 
panions repofed upwards of three hours under a manchi¬ 
neel tree, without receiving any injury; and that he ex¬ 
perienced the rain dropping from the leaves to be perfectly 
innocent. Long alio fays, that the negroes do not fuffer 
any inconvenience from the drops of the juice accidentally 
falling on their fkin, when felling this tree, or hacking ofF 
the limbs; but that, if it chance to fly into their eyes, it 
will give them a fevere pain for feveral hours: and Jac¬ 
quin affirms, from his own experience, that a drop of that 
milky juice, with which the whole tree abounds, falling 
on any part of the hand, except the palm, will immedi¬ 
ately raife a blifter. 
The wood of this tree is frequently of a fine grain, and 
very beautifully clouded; and, taking a fine polilh, is- 
much efteemed in the Weft-Indies for making cabinets, 
book-cafes, See. It is very durable, and not lubjedl to be 
eaten by worms. The wood-cutters make a fire round the 
body of the tree before they venture to fell it, to avoid 
the danger of lofing their fight by the cauftic juice flying- 
into their eyes. If the juice fall upon linen, it will turn 
it black, and on being wafhed will come into holes. If 
any of the faw-duft happens to get into the workmen’s - 
eyes, itcaufes an inflammation ; to prevent which, the}' ge¬ 
nerally cover their faces wliilft they are working the wood. 
The Indians are faid to poifon their arrows with the juice 
of this tree: and it exudes a gum, which has been given 
medicinally inltead of gum guaiacum. The manchineel 
tree is common on the Tandy coafts of America and the.- 
Weft-Indies, generally growing at fome fmall diftance front' 
the Turf. It flowers in May, and the fruit ripens in July., 
Miller cultivated it here in 1739. The European nations 
have, with little variation, adopted the Spanifh name man - 
canilla, which fignifies a little apple. 
2. Hippomane biglandulol'a, the gum-tree: leaves ovate- 
oblong, biglandular at the bafe. This tree- is from twenty 
to fifty feet high, with an even browniili afli-coloured 
bark. Leaves on young trees frequently a foot long, but' 
on older ones fhorter; they are blunt, crenate-ferrate, of 
a firm fubftance, and bright green. Native of the conti¬ 
nent of America and the Weft-India illands, on moun¬ 
tains ; flowering in March and September. The whole 
tree yields a great quantity of milky juice, which becomes 
a refm or gum of a thick fticky conflftence, dirty colour, 
opaque, and of little or no fmell: this generally ferves- 
for the boiiing-houfe lamps, in every .part of the country 
where the tree is frequent; and is much ufed for bird-lime. 
The wood is foft and coarfe, and not much efteemed ; it 
is ufed, however, for making hogfhead-ftaves. 
3. Hippomane fpinofa, or prickly manchineel: leaves 
fubovate, tooth-fpiny. This is-of humbler growth, del-. 
dom 
